Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday last that over 1,600 passengers have died on board trains over the past three years.
The Member of Parliament from Nowgong constituency stated that in all the 1,678 casualties, the bodies of the deceased were handed over to the Government Railway Police (GRP) as per protocol and the families were be provided all possible aid.
In 2006, the Supreme Court had directed All India Institutes of Medical Sciences ( AIIMS) to form a committee to recommend medical amenities to be provided in trains and advised emergency medical care to passengers, directing the provision of oxygen cylinders in all trains. Gohain said that all the recommendations of the committee have been implemented.
Presently, as many as 88 life-saving equipments, medicines and injections are now available on trains and stations, as per the guidelines of the committee. Previously, only a basic first aid box was usually available on railway premises.
According to an official, the available medical kits include delivery kits, laryngoscopes, catheters, syringes, tablets, splints, bandages of various sizes, ointments and even oxygen defibrillators.
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